Can You Help Solve These Five Missing Person Cases?

The International Commission on Missing Persons estimates around 200,000 people are currently missing across the world, although numbers may be higher since so many cases go unreported. Many of the people now missing disappeared under mysterious circumstances, some 10, 20, 30 years ago or longer. Someone, somewhere, knows something about every missing person. Perhaps you can be the one who helps bring closure to the family of a missing person.

Kimberly Avila

On May 12, 2017, Kimberly Avila spent the evening with family and friends at her Brownsville, Texas, home. Some family had crossed the border from Mexico to visit with Avila and the family. They enjoyed games, music, and a late dinner before Avila headed out for a little late-night clubbing and bar-hopping. Her sister, Ivon Rodante, dropped her off downtown, though did so reluctantly. Rodante got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. No one has seen Avila since she closed the car door in the wee hours of the morning on May 13, 2017.

When Ivon realized Avila had not returned home, she was frantic. Ivon and her mother waited, hoping Avila would come prancing into the house. By nightfall, the frantic mother-daughter headed downtown to search for them. They flagged down a patrol car and told him Avila was missing. The officer told Ivon and her mother they could file a report on Monday.

Kimberly disappeared from an area of Brownsville located near the border of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, separated only by the Gateway Bridge. It’s considered a rough area even today, where abandoned, rundown buildings sit in despair, and high crime rates flourish.

Ivon and her mother plastered the missing person postered around the area and searched for Avila without luck. The family spoke with a detective the following Monday morning and filed a missing person report.

Kimberly Avila is a transgender female. Family and friends wonder if she was targeted due to her inclusion in the LGBT+ community.

The family continues to search for their beloved Kimberly Avila, unsure how she vanished from the face of the earth. If you have information about the disappearance of Kimberly Avila, call Brownsville Police Department at 956-548-7000.

Ruthey Mackenzie Smith

Ruthey disappeared from Los Angeles, CA, in March 2022. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since. The 19-year-old stands 5’4” and weighs approximately 125 pounds. She has a tattoo of the word “Ocean” and a wave on her chest, tattoos of the names “Ezra” and “La’Marion” on the sides of her face, and her nose and navel are pierced.

Family and police suspect Ruthey is the victim of sex trafficking. She had recently become involved in sex work as a means of supporting her 3-year-old daughter. She was last seen in an area known for high prostitution activity.

Ruthey told her family that she wanted help to get out of the sex industry. They found a nonprofit agency that helps victims of sexual exploitation who agreed to help, although she declined the offer.

Contact the Long Beach Police Department at 562-435-6711 if you have information about Ruthey's disappearance.

Samuel Byrd

Little information is known about the disappearance of Samuel Byrd. He was last seen in June 1977 after his graduation from Hamden High School in East Haven, CT. Samuel was 18 years old when he disappeared. He is now 65 years old if still alive. Call 203-946-6304 ext. 1314 if you have information about Samuel Byrd.

Jasmine Kirlissa and Melissa Collins

On August 8, 1991, seven-month-old Jasmine and her mother, Melissa, disappeared from Akron, Ohio, as they walked to a supermarket located approximately four blocks from their apartment. Detectives suspect foul play in both Jas and Melissa’s disappearance, although have not located either body.

Melissa’s mother found her daughter’s purse, clothes, and a stack of diapers inside her home, as well as prepared bottles of milk inside the fridge, all clear indicators she did not plan to leave. She did not have a vehicle and had never cashed her month’s government benefits check.

Police suspect Raymond “Sweet Pea” Smith, Jr. of involvement with the disappearances. Smith Jr. was the boyfriend of the woman who sublet her apartment to Melissa. He left the home shortly after Melissa and Jasmine. Witnesses reported the clothing he wore appeared to be stained when he returned home a day later.

Smith had a history of drug abuse, mental illness, and violence, with several criminal convictions for various offenses. Melissa and her mother both feared Smith Jr. after he made unwanted advances toward Melissa.

Smith Jr. committed suicide six months after Melissa disappeared. The motive behind the suicide is unclear but he was facing potential prison time in a criminal case, leaving detectives to speculate that he did not want to return to a cell.

If you have information about this case, call the Akron Police Department at 330-375-2530.

Sachiko McClurg

Sachiko disappeared on May 1, 2018, from Tucson, AZ. She lived with her husband, James, and their blind daughter, Jeni. The 65-year-old and her daughter were abducted from their home by Jeni’s estranged husband, Norman Schrank III. Two days later, police found him and Jeni at a cabin he had rented in Pine, AZ. She was bound and seriously injured but still alive. Sachiko was nowhere to be found.

Jeni did not know what happened to her mother since she is blind. She did tell police that she heard Schrank leave the cabin several times throughout the night.

Schrank was charged with kidnapping both women and admitted to taking them against their will. He also admitted that he put a plastic bag over Sachiko’s head, but only wanted to talk to his wife. They had not spoken since she filed for divorce in 2018. A murder charge and several related charges were later added to Schrank’s list of crimes. Schrank was found unresponsive in his cell on May 16. He had committed suicide. Sachiko’s remains have never been found.

Contact the Pima County Police Department at 520-351-4600 if you have information about this case.